The Pain of a Scar
by ChocolateFrogs1
Summary: After defeating the Dark Lord, Harry had nothing to worry about - until he felt a searing pain across his forehead with the memory of an old aquantance ...


Well this is my first Fan Fic! I have spent a lot of time on the first chapter, trying to shape out a good plot. Well here it goes! Please Read and Review!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from J.K. Rowling's brilliant Harry Potter series.  
  
~ The Pain of a Scar ~  
  
Chapter One: Memories  
  
'Can you believe we survived seven years at this bloody school?' Ron asked. He was walking, hands in pockets, between his two best friends. They had decided to take a walk around the lake before they proceeded into the Great Hall for the End-of-Term feast.  
  
'I can't believe we're leaving Hogwarts for good,' Hermione said sadly. She turned to look up at the ghostly castle. The fog was looming over the structure, giving it an eerie appearance. Hermione felt a small tear trickling down her cheek as she began to reminisce in endless memories.  
  
'Don't tell me you're not happy to be leaving!" said Ron, disbelief written all over his face.  
  
Harry tried to contain his laughter as his two friends engaged in yet another argument. Though he usually hated to take sides, he had to say that he felt more like Hermione. For the past seven years, Hogwarts had served as his only home - a place where he felt so happy (at least most of the time). He felt a mixture of regret and excitement as he looked upon the school.  
  
'Oh Ron, don't act as if you're not going to be missing Hogwarts!' Hermione exclaimed, now her face red with anger.  
  
'Oh yeah,' Ron said rolling his eyes, 'I'll really miss all those boring lessons, agonizing tests, endless studying -'  
  
'Yeah, yeah we get the point,' Harry interrupted. With that, the Hermione and Ron began to walk towards the castle.  
  
'Coming Harry?' Ron asked his friend, who was still standing and staring at the school.  
  
'I'll meet you guys up there,' Harry said.  
  
'But Harry, you're going to be late for the feast!' Hermione said, checking her watch.  
  
'No, I'll get there in time. Just save me a seat.' Ron and Hermione reluctantly turned and headed back to the Entrance Hall. Harry sat on the grass and hugged his legs to his body. His mind began to wander back to his memorable years at Hogwarts: meeting Hermione and Ron, his first time flying, finding the Sorcerer's Stone, the TriWizard Tournament, the Order of the Phoenix, defeating the Dark Lord - he laid down on the grass and closed his eyes.  
  
He ran his fingers over his scar - a mark left by the murderer of his parents. Harry began to think of how life would have been different if his parents were still alive. He could imagine coming home to a house, resembling ht Burrow, and two loving parents who would sweep him up into their arms, just as Mrs. Weasley did every time she saw him.  
  
His scar felt scaly and rough on his fingers. Harry had almost forgotten it this past year with the absence of Voldermort. He knew it would never bother him again. The only reason it would was if Voldermort had returned, which he was sure could not happen.  
  
He took his fingers off his scar and sat up. He looked at the luminous building in front of him. Hogwarts - he would dearly miss it.  
  
What next? He thought. He had no idea what was in store for him now that his years at this school of witchcraft and wizardry were over.  
  
Harry rose from the grass and started walking back to the castle. He stopped briefly and sighed as he took one more look. "Home sweet home," he muttered and briskly walked over the grass to the doors.  
  
Harry had returned to his seat in time. He had engaged in a conversation regarding the latest racing brooms with Ron and Seamus when Professor Dumbledore stood, quickly silencing the entire school.  
  
'Another year ends,' he started. 'We now can relax for another three months before our heads began to buzz again with knowledge and wonder of magic. However, we must also sadden at the loss of our dear seventh year students, who will be leaving Hogwarts at the end of this feast. I now would like to raise a toast to those students wishing them luck and guidance in the future, wherever it may take them.'  
  
The students in the hall raised their goblets and drank to the seventh years. Harry looked up at Dumbledore, whose eyes were surprisingly staring back at him. Dumbledore gave Harry a smile he knew all too well, and then returned his gaze to the rest of the students.  
  
'Without further ado, bon appetite!'  
  
Harry began to grab at anything and everything he could - after all this would be one of the last free dinners he would be having for a long time.  
  
'Harry don't scoff up the entire table!' Ron exclaimed, through bits of Yorkshire Pudding.  
  
'Yeah save some for us!' Seamus added loudly. Harry chewed up his last bits of chicken, swallowed and then said, 'Listen guys, if you want to eat, then you'd better hurry because it'll be gone in two seconds.'  
  
The boys scrambled to grab some desert and then focused on scoffing down the rest of their food. Once everyone had finished, they returned to their dormitories for one last night's rest. Harry and Ron managed to sneak up some food and decorate the entire Gryffindor common room for an end-of- the-year party. Even Hermione didn't miss out on the festivities. Ginny also joined in; her eyes were wet with tears as she bid farewell to many of the seventh years that would be leaving the Hogwart's grounds forever.  
  
She walked up to Harry, Ron and Hermione at around 2:00 am. The four were the last to leave the common room and were left with the responsibilities of cleaning up.  
  
'Well guys guess it's up to us!' said Ginny, looking around at the mess. 'Hermione will you do the honors?'  
  
Hermione pulled out her wand and said 'Scourgify!' ridding the room of trash and unwanted food. The four sat down by the fire, Ron and Hermione on one couch, Harry and Ginny on the other. They all stared at the fire silently, thinking to themselves.  
  
Harry stared into the flames, not noticing them, but thinking - thinking of Hogwarts and the memories he had there. He looked next to him at Ginny. Her long red Weasley hair swept down her back as she stared blankly into the fire. Harry's mind began to wonder to a particular memory.  
  
The moon was high in the sky, shining bright. Harry took a break from studying for his N.E.W.T.s and took a stroll out on the grounds of Hogwarts. He walked around the lake, hands in pockets, still reviewing some of the hexes he was just studying.  
  
He crept along the grounds heading to Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid was not there, as he had gone off to Hogsmeade earlier to supposedly get a drink - with Hagrid, however, it could be anything.  
  
Harry felt a shiver go down his back as he approached the cabin door. He decided to check on Fang in the meantime and rest in Hagrid's warm house. He turned the knob of the door, surprised to see a light inside, near the bed.  
  
Before Harry could even reach for his wand, he was knocked to the ground by a large, slobbery dog. 'Fang, geroff!' Harry managed to say, as the giant dog began to lick him all over. Harry pushed Fang off and stood up, dusting off his robes. He looked up to see who else was in the cabin and was surprise dot see none other than Ginny Weasley. 'Oh my! Harry are you okay?' she said as she scrambled toward him. She began to dust off his robes and wipe his glasses with the hem of her hand- me-down robes. It reminded Harry of Mrs. Weasley.  
  
'What are you doing here, Ginny?' he asked, once Ginny stopped frantically dusting him off.  
  
'Well, Hagrid told me that he was leaving for Hogsmeade, so I decided to come and give Fang some company,' she said, sitting back down on the bed, soon followed by Fang. Harry pulled out of chair and placed it by the bed. He sat down on it backwards, as if riding a horse. They were silent for a little while. Suddenly both of them blurted out something at the same time.  
  
'So Harry, how -'  
  
'Ginny, what -'  
  
Both of them looked at each other and laughed. 'You go first, I insist,' Harry said with a smile.  
  
'Well I was just going to ask you how the N.E.W.T.s are coming along,' she said stroking Fang's neck.  
  
'Well, when you have Hermione, it's basically hell,' he said, smiling sheepishly. 'Don't get me wrong though, I would probably never pass them without Hermione there.'  
  
'I know,' Ginny laughed. 'I can here Ron groaning every time Hermione tells him to start studying. They are so cute!' Harry laughed.  
  
Harry and Ginny continued talking for another fifteen minutes or so. Soon the fire began to die down. Fang had rested his head on his legs and had fallen into a quiet slumber. Harry noticed this and checked the clock in the corner of the one-room cabin. 'Eleven fifty-eight,' he said to himself. He rose quietly, trying not to disturb Fang and turned to Ginny.  
  
'Hey, we better get back,' he said once again glancing at the clock. 'It's almost midnight.'  
  
'Yeah let's go. Ron and Hermione must be wondering where we are.'  
  
Harry and Ginny put out the fire and crept out of the cabin. The walked to the Entrance Hall and Harry held the door open for Ginny. Harry smiled and opened the door to the castle. They saw Mrs. Norris waiting at them, looking cross and then running off to find Filch. Harry just shrugged. He sneaked across the hall and behind a statue. He took out his wand and muttered, 'Ouvrelium!' And crouched into a small passageway.  
  
'Wow!' Ginny gasped. 'Fred and George never told me about his place!'  
  
'That's because they never knew,' Harry said, stepping onto a long staircase. 'Dumbledore gave me a complex map of the school that showed secret passages I would never dream of! He said that even the Head Boy and girl have it. But I have a feeling Hermione has no clue that I have it.'  
'Is it like the Marauder's Map?' Ginny asked, following Harry up the stairs.  
  
'Oh not in the least. This map only shows secret passageways and classrooms. It doesn't show people moving around it.' Harry and Ginny had climbed up three floors, where they came to a small door. Harry took out his wand, but hen stopped. 'What's the Gryffindor password?' he asked Ginny.  
  
Ginny laughed. 'You don't even know the password?'  
  
Harry smiled meekly, blushing slightly. 'I don't have any room in my head to remember silly things like the Gryffindor password. Anyway, you are the Gryffindor prefect, Ginny...'  
  
'Okay, okay. It's -'  
  
But before Ginny could say a thing, the entire staircase was lit by and illuminating light, emitted from a wand at the bottom of the stairwell. Harry had to shade his eyes to see beyond the stunning light. Below he saw the silhouette of a woman, standing rigid, wand pointing at the two students.  
  
'Well, well, well,' said a woman's low, husky voice, 'will you look at this. Harry Potter has himself a girlfriend.'  
  
Harry reached into his pocket and tightened his grip on the wand lying inside. The voice sounded oddly familiar to him - familiar in a bad way.  
  
'Wh-who are you?' Harry asked.  
  
The woman laughed. 'Who am I? Who am I . well Harry I am surprised that you do not recognize me? I, the only loyalty to the Dark Lord, the only servant who will carry on his work, the only one who has set out to kill his murderer, Harry Potter...'  
  
Harry pulled out his wand slowly, ready for action. With the other arm, he pulled Ginny behind him. Ginny had her wand out as well, though she looked scared as ever.  
  
'Voldermort was killed years ago, as were his followers,' Harry said stiffly, taking a step down the steep staircase.  
  
'That is what they think,' said the woman, a note of happiness in her voice. "But the Ministry did not know that one had gotten away, one was still alive, ready to sustain the Dark Lord's presence.'  
  
Harry's head was spinning with millions of ideas when his brain suddenly stopped. He knew who it was and his heart leaped in fear. One Death Eater had escaped the night of Voldermort's downfall. Though the Ministry had assured that she was arrested and held in London, Harry had felt that they were not telling the entire truth. But now, however it happened, she was standing in front of him, wand at hand, slowly climbing the stairwell, step by step, the murderer of Harry's godfather...  
  
'Lestrange,' Harry said in a hoarse whisper, he mouth dry with shock and fear.  
  
Harry suddenly realized that he had said the word out loud. His three Gryffindor companions turned to look at him bewildered at what he just said.  
  
'Harry?' Ginny said at first, her face written with concern.' Are you okay?'  
  
Harry sat and looked at her. 'I'm sorry. I think I'll go to bed now.' He got up and looked at Ron and Hermione for a quick second, then strolled up the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories.  
  
Harry was not surprised to be thinking of Lestrange, as he climbed into bed. For the past six months, Ministry officials were trying their hardest to track down the escapee and protect Harry at the same time. She had escaped form the night of Voldermort's murder unscathed and very much alive. Lestrange had gone delirious over the death of her one and only master. But she was focused on one thing - killing Harry.  
  
Harry heard the door of the dormitories open and Ron enter the room. The red-haired Weasley entered the dorm and climbed into bed. He glanced over to Harry, who was pretending to be asleep, and then pulled the drapes around his bed.  
  
Harry turned onto his side and began to replay the memory inside his head. He drifted off into slumber, the images playing throughout his mind.  
  
The woman cackled a high laugh. 'Lestrange,' she mocked in a squeaky voice. 'So you do remember me now, don't you?'  
  
Harry made a lunge down the stairs in attempt to reach the former Death Eater, but was grabbed by the arm by Ginny. He looked back at her angrily and said through his gritted teeth, 'Let go!'  
  
'Harry calm down,' Ginny said calmly, tightening her grip on his arm. She lowered her voice to a whisper. 'We need to get out of here and to Dumbledore.' But Harry could not find any rationing inside his mind. He turned to look and Lestrange and tried to pull away again, only to be caught by Ginny arms.  
  
'Harry, Harry, you must control that temper of yours,' she said menacingly. 'Otherwise you might end up like your dear godfather.'  
  
At that word, Harry lost it. He jerked out of Ginny's grip, grabbed his wand and yelled 'Stupefy!' But before he could even finish the word, he blown back full force by a blast from the bottom of the stairwell. Harry got to his feet, wand at ready, though confused as to what had really happened.  
  
Ginny got to her feet and grabbed Harry on his left arm. 'Harry what happened?'  
  
'I don't know Ginny, I just -' but he stopped. Someone was moving on the staircase, a shadow quite opposite of what had been standing there moments ago...  
  
Harry awoke with a start. He had been sleeping barely an hour but what had surprised him was a searing pain on his forehead.  
  
'What the -' Harry began, running his finger over the pain.  
  
He ran to the mirror and looked at the spot where his fingers were touching. His eyes widened in shock as he ran his fingers along his lightening-bolt scar...  
  
Well there it is! I hope you liked the first chapter. I enjoyed trying to write a story within another story. I am trying to use Harry's memories of the night he met Lestrange as clues to help solve the mystery of why his scar is hurting. And don't worry - I'll have some Harry/Ginny romance in the next chapter! 


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